GOTTA GUN ???

To write that guns are a part of our everyday experience is probably the most obvious understatement one could make. I grew up watching Hopalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers as a boy and continued with 77 Sunset Strip, and Gunsmoke as an adolescent. Today gun story lines continue with television programs like Law and Order and CSI. Guns and stories with guns and gun violence have become a standard and ever increasing part of American life. Add to this the popularity of televised out of control behavior as seen on various reality programs and the glamorization of gun play and violence in popular alternative music and film and we have a rather gun happy environment.

Tragic events like the massacre in Tucson have happened before and will no doubt happen again. The second amendment to our Constitution states: "A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. " will continue to be interpreted and debated ad nauseum. Interestingly, one of the only other countries with a higher gun owner per capita rate than the United States is Switzerland and the Swiss have virtually no gun crime. Of course those who believe in a well armed populace like to cite Switzerland as a shining example of an well armed population.

Unfortunately, countries like Switzerland with a homogenous, well educated population and an unemployment rate under 4% are hardly similar to the demographics of the United States. While our cultural, racial and ethnic diversity are viewed as a source of strength and vitality by many, for others this diversity is a source of fear, loathing and hostility. What some do not understand, tolerate or even accept, the second amendment guarantees a tangible margin of safety ... a gun. Add to this scenario the perception that our justice system and various police agencies no longer have the ability to protect and serve; but have deteriorated to function merely as administrators and after the fact clean up specialists. Is it any wonder that more and more Americans find it desirable and in some environments necessary to possess a gun in some shape or form?

In 1791, 220 years ago, when the second amendment was passed, the Founding Fathers had in mind a "well regulated militia". Today after years of interpretation we may not have a "well regulated militia" but we do have a well armed population. Both law abiding citizens as well as this country's criminal element are armed and ready for action. In my opinion the incidences of gun violence we have seen in this country so far have been skirmishes. There is no doubt it will get more violent. If we can't keep guns out of the hands of the criminal element then maybe it is time to more visibly arm the police and others. The playing field is not level. The criminal element needs to become as concerned and fearful of being shot as the rest of us. The current philosophy of gun control has failed and it is time for a change. Any ideas ???

FIXING OUR SCHOOLS FOR DUMMIES- VII

SAFE AND SECURE SCHOOLS

In the United States like many other countries students by law must attend school. Students cannot legally drop out until they complete the high school academic year in which they turned 16. Unfortunately, more and more of our students drop out of high school. It is a baffling situation because successful completion of high school and actually graduating is the minimum necessary in this country for future success. One cannot even join the military without completing high school or getting one's GED and the military limits the number of GED applicants it will accept. GED stands for General Educational Development and it is viewed as an equivalent document to a high school diploma.

There are countless reasons for students to drop out of high school. These reasons might include: family problems, socio-economic issues, poor grades, substance abuse, behavior problems and a failure to recognize the value of an education. Recently another factor may be accountable for not only students dropping out of high school; but even the increasingly poor attendance of more and more elementary and junior high school students. That factor is school safety. Violence both in and around our schools is increasing. The killings at Columbine was the wake-up call and there seems to be more and more incidences of students fighting, stabbing and shooting one another in and around schools across the country.

If attending school is compulsory then it is school system's responsibility to see that students are safe and secure in a situation where their attendance is mandatory. One can only wonder if the truancy on the elementary level and the accelerating dropout rate in high schools are the results of the increasing incidences of school violence. The school environment is fast changing and unfortunately those responsible for administering our schools are out of step. While school boards argue over the political correctness of social studies books and site administrators focus on gum chewing and clothing styles, other more serious problems need attention. Educators seem to be packed in a slow moving school bus in the commuter lane while students are speeding along in the fast lane.

I viewed a presentation recently in which the speaker offered that by the time kids get to school their brains have been rewired to be digital because they have spent so much time with digital activities, http://www.wimp.com/secretpowers/. Unfortunately the school environment is analog in that students are expected to focus on lectures, books, paper assignments and tests. In the classroom students cannot use the pause or delete key. Obviously, some will not be able to handle this foreign and unfamiliar situation. Lacking self-control, poor behavior is inevitable.



During my years of teaching I encountered poorly behaved students who enjoyed their attempts to be disruptive in the classroom. Ironically these same students rarely missed a day of school. Some actually bragged that they came to school not to learn but to socialize, hassle their fellow students, annoy teachers and see how much they could get away with. It is long past the time when the vast majority of students who attend regularly, participate in class, do their assignments and stay out of trouble once again become the focus of attention. This taken for granted, unappreciated and basically ignored student population needs to become the main attraction and receive top billing. The misfits, trouble makers, occasional attendees, novice gang members, and all those who just don't give a damn about their education need to be dealt with in a manner and location that does not detract from those students who appreciate and want an education.

Our schools are not an extension of the juvenile justice system or the mental health system. For too long the schools and their staffs have been used as the untrained extensions of the courts, law enforcement, health services and on occasion neglectful parents. The business of education is education. Current conditions make it difficult enough for schools to fulfill their primary responsibility without having to be burdened by all of society's other problems. When schools once again focus on those who want to learn and allow teachers to teach without being part time cops, social workers, mental health professionals and truant officers a more safe environment will be established and school violence will no doubt decrease. This is not rocket science just plain old common sense ... something that seems to be in short supply.

Next Post: Dangerous, Disruptive and Disobedient Students

Random Thoughts II

TAX FREEDOM DAY

While many Californians were faced with the April 15th deadline to file their taxes there is another significant date on the horizon.... April 20th --- TAX FREEDOM DAY. It is on this day, the 110th day of the year, that Californians will have earned enough money to cover all their respective tax obligations. We are currently ranked 4th in the nation. The residents of Connecticut hold the 1st place position working 120 days, 2nd place goes to New Jersey with residents working 115 days and 3rd place goes to New Yorkers who will have worked 115 days to cover their tax burden.

In another ranking California holds the distinction of placing 47th in the field of 50 states with respect to per pupil expenditure for education. This situation kind of begs the question --- what is the Sacramento brain trust doing with our tax money? We are billions of dollars in the red, both sales and vehicle license fees have recently gone up and property taxes remain firm.

Where are our hard earned tax dollars going? Is it time for a collective shout of "Show us the money"? With the rise in sales and VLF taxes we may beat New York and take 1st place in 2010; but only New Yorkers (and Sacramento) will be celebrating.

HARSH and IRRESPONSIBLE WORDS

In these difficult times when people are losing their jobs and homes the last thing they need to hear are harsh words of criticism. Unfortunately, that is exactly what they are hearing from President Obama’s team. In February Attorney General Eric Holder commented “Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial, we have always been and we -- I believe continue to be in too many ways essentially a nation of cowards." He added that Americans are afraid to talk about race. Where the hell has he been since Brown vs. Board of Education? This is just what we need, a thoughtless and clueless Attorney General.

Next, we have Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comments on drugs and border violence:”Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade. Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians. So, yes, I feel very strongly we have co-responsibility." I would agree that we have far too many drug dependent individuals in this country. However; it is the Federal government’s responsibility to secure our borders and they have failed miserably.

VIOLENCE

Recent events seem to indicate that we have an epidemic of violence and lawlessness in the United States. Four police officers gunned down in Oakland, CA. and three killed in Pittsburgh, PA. Small children abducted and killed by people they should have been able to trust. Far too many nightly drive by shootings and far too many youths who feel slighted and disrespected and then resolve these alleged conflicts by using a gun. Our courts, prosecutors, prisons and parole and probation system seem overwhelmed. The public having lost confidence in the ability of the police and courts to protect them have opted to arm themselves. Guns, guns and more guns …. But are we actually safer?

PIRATES

The Pirates of Somalia made the news and made a big mistake last week when they seized an American vessel and then held the Capitan hostage. For most of us the pirates’ ages, specific nationality, level of education, former occupations, and religious beliefs were secondary to the fact that they are outlaws … pirates. However; David Gergen, CNN’s senior political correspondent, chose not to refer to the aggressors as pirates; but Muslims. He said: “The natural temptation is to want to go in with military force and clean out those nests of pirates and just demolish them for even touching an American in the way they did, but there are some complications. Anderson (Anderson Cooper of CNN), in this case this is complicated by his (President Obama) diplomatic outreach to Muslims. He's done a good job laying the groundwork, reaching out in Turkey as we saw a few days ago. If he over-responds to this, if he uses force against Muslims in what seems an excessive way, it could totally undercut his own efforts.”

A pirate is a pirate … is a pirate … is a CRIMINAL regardless of religious affiliation. This country’s response to a criminal attack to one of its merchant ships must be weighed from a military point of view and only a military point of view. Whether the pirates are Catholic, Protestant, Jew or Muslim is irrelevant … they are criminals! Must we be politically correct on the high seas?

CLASS CLOWNS

Over the past month there have been many public figures who, as a result of their public comments and/or actions are a source of head shaking and laughter. To name a few: The financial shenanigans of Senators Chris Dodd and Barney Frank, San Francisco’s smarmy Mayor Newsom and his bid to be California’s next Governor, State Governors Palin, Blagoevich, Jindal and their suspension of logic and common sense, and finally there are two weasels from the Bush administration who now suffer from the dual affliction of having constipated brains and diarrhea of the mouth. Carl Rove and Dick Cheney are on a crusade to salvage the Bush legacy. As in their past being truthful is not important to Cheney and Rove … getting their way is.